The Andalucian cuisine will tantalise your taste buds.
Andalucia is best known for its beaches, sunny weather and flamenco. But food is a hugely important part of southern Spain - indeed, the Mediterranean diet was recently recognised as being part of UNESCO's world cultural heritage. A key part of your life here (if Andalucia is your home - whether temporary, or permanent, like me), or your holiday, if you're just visiting, is eating out. It is so reasonably priced in most parts of Andalucia, especially if you know where to go, that going out for tapas - tapear - is many people's preferred way to spend an evening (especially in Granada, where you get a free tapa with each drink). Spain's chefs are widely acknowledged as being among the best in the world - Ferran Adria has a restaurant near Seville - and Andalucia's are held in high regard too. If you're at the beach, head to your nearest chiringuito - beach-side restaurant.
If you choose to eat at home - be this in your own house or your rented holiday apartment, then you have a great choice of ingredients, all produced on your doorstep, here in Andalucia: fresh seafood - some of which you won't even recognise, as it doesn't exist back home - from the many hundreds of km of coastline; locally grown fruit and vegetables of first quality; jamon serrano, ideal for an Andalucian breakfast, on toast with olive oil and crushed tomato, or a sandwich. Olives are a delicious and healthy snack, and grown all over the region.
A Place for every food
Gastronomy in Andalucia is very location-specific - everyone knows that the best strawberries and jamon come from Huelva; sardines from Malaga; tuna from Barbate; mangoes from Granada; cucumbers and tomatoes from Almeria. Jaen makes the best olive oil (although people from other provinces, especially Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla, will dispute this). Wine is produced all over Andalucia, though the most famous tipples are sherry from Jerez and Malaga sweet wine.
Organic and Gourmet Produce
Organic food is, at last, becoming more widely available, with markets in cities and on the coast, as well as many supermarkets now offering "Bio" sections, with fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, and dried goods. Andalucia produces more organic food than any other region of Spain, but until recently most of it was exported to other European countries such as Germany, France and the UK; now, there's a growing domestic market.
The finest products are given a DO (Denominacion de Origen), which is a guarantee of quality - for example, sherry from Jerez and olive oil from Jaen's Sierra Sur, but also asparagus from Cordoba and Malaga raisins.
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Dishes to try
Here are some of the dishes you shouldn't miss out on while you're staying here. Many are traditions which have been passed down from Andalucian grandmothers.
Gazpacho - a chilled tomato soup, served with diced vegetables
Salmorejo - a thicker version of Gazpacho, served with chopped boiled egg and jamon. It comes from Cordoba
Pescaito frito - a mix of fried fish, including calamares (squid), adobo (marinated dogfish), merluza (hake) and puntillitas (baby octopus). Try it in Cadiz
Huevos a la flamenco - eggs baked with jamon, chorizo and vegetables. A colourful Sevillano speciality
Solomillo al whisky - pork fillet cooked in brandy (Andalucian logic, don't ask me to explain)
Rabo de toro - bull's tail estofado (stew)- eaten after bullfights, using that day's toros
Arroz marinero - caldoso (soupy) rice with seafood, served in a cazuela (big lidded pot) with a spoon, so you can help yourself. Might have almejas (clams), mejillones (mussels), prawns (gambas)
Learn more about the most renowned dishes from each province here - in addition, each town has its own speciality.
Food Festivals
Foodies will be interested to hear that there are various food-themed festivals throughout the year in Andalucia. From cherries to chestnuts, wine to tuna, look out for our feature next month, just in time for autumn's many harvest celebrations.
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